I've been married to my dearest love for the past 10 years. We have three children. If you have a few minutes, please read the birth stories of my daughter Eden (a 40 minute hospital birth), my daughter Iris (a 9 minute hospital birth), the birth story of my newborn son, Oren, an hour long unassisted homebirth.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

In an animal study from the University of Cincinnati and the Medical College of Georgia, researchers found that mice fed high-fat were more likely to have larger-than-average babies, which is a risk factor for being overweight or obese later in life.

They found that a high-fat causes the placenta to go into "overdrive" and sends too many nutrients to the baby developing in utero.

On a positive note, they also theorized that putting women on a high-fat diet may help to reduce the number of low birth weight babies.

In either case, this new research yet again highlights the importance of nutrition during pregnancy and the long-term effects it can have, for better or for worse, on your baby's life. Sadly, most obstetricians pay lip service to providing expectant women with detailed nutritional guidance during their pregnancies. Increased attention to nutrition could be the catalyst to preventing life-long complications for children and subsiding the obesity epidemic in many countries.